Bubblegum Cris-Icz
by IczelPrime
Summary: Here it is, the 'fic that started it all for me. A crossover of the Bubblegum Crisis OVA world and a continuation of the Iczelion anime with a new main character. Enjoy - and while C&C is appreciated, please remember that I wrote this *years* ago. Happy r
1. Episode 1: Beginnings

Disclaimer: All series, characters, and mecha mentioned herein are the properties of their creators.   
This is not a challenge of any sort to their ownership, so don't sue me, because I have no money.  
  
Explanations  
Communication: In this fanfic, I have to deal with several types of 'speech'. I will type them as   
follows:   
"Talking",   
[Thinking],   
and {'Sending,' or using telepathy or mental communication.}  
  
I will also use the usual Internet symbols for emphasis:   
'slight',   
_medium_,   
*strong*,   
and SHOUTING!  
  
This is a fanfic set in the Bubblegum Crisis world, the year   
2032, in MegaTokyo, Japan. I am making the assumption here that in   
1992, the events of the Iczelion anime occurred. People interested   
in information on either series are advised to visit the Anime Web   
Turnpike (at www.anipike.com) and check out the links listed there   
for more information. To fill in the gap between the end of Iczelion   
and the beginning of Bubblegum Crisis, I will provide this loose   
background:  
  
At the end of Iczelion Act 2, the enemy leader Chaos is not   
yet defeated, and the mystery of where the Iczels' creators (the   
Iczers) are is unresolved. In "my" timeline, it takes the Iczelions   
three years to finally destroy Chaos and his forces. After that,   
three of the Iczelions - Nami Shiina, Black Iczelion; Kiro Ijima,   
Gold Iczelion; and Kawaii Kawaii, Silver Iczelion; decide to leave   
Earth and search for the Iczers. Nagisa Kai and her Iczel partner   
remain behind. Nagisa pursues her wrestling career, using a "noble   
alien warrior" character gimmick and becoming quite rich. In 2010,   
she marries, and in 2015, her son, Sean Kai, named for his   
grandfather, is born. Unfortunately, Brian, the father, becomes a   
vocal anti-GENOM protester and dies in a "mugging" in 2020. Sean is   
scanned by Iczel and proves to be able, as his mother is, to   
'synchronize' with an Iczel to create Iczelion. Under the guise of   
preparing him for a pro wrestling career, Nagisa begins training   
Sean to succeed her as the defender of the Earth. Sean is, in fact,   
the main character of our story. With that in mind...  
  
Characters  
  
Sean Kai, son of Nagisa and our main character. He's 17 years   
old, rather short, at only 5' 9" tall (and growing), has brown hair,   
brown eyes, and is well-built. He's good at wrestling and several   
martial arts, and his training and natural agility have combined   
to make him incredibly hard to hit - as long as he's able to dodge.   
He's also *very* strong-willed, to the point where he might win a   
staredown with either Priss or Sylia.  
  
Iczel (Normal Type), Nagisa's partner as an Iczelion and soon   
Sean's as well. A brief note on capabilities; the basic functions   
of each Iczelion are the same, including firing energy beams,   
creating force fields and beam swords, and the changing or   
concealing of the human's features to keep from being recognized.   
The 'higher functions' of an Iczelion partnership are determined by   
the partners, however: Sean's are, as yet, unknown.  
  
Priscilla (Priss) Asagiri, the lead singer of "Priss and the Replicants," a popular rock band. Also a secret member of the Knight   
Sabers, serving as the assault specialist. Sean has seen Priss sing,   
and idolizes her as a rebel and (though he won't admit this) as a   
sex symbol.  
  
Leon McNichol, the best detective in the A.D. Police and   
leader of their 'tactical response teams,' or 'Tac Squads' for   
short. He and Sean don't know each other, but have bumped elbows at   
Priss' concerts.  
  
Nene Romanova, at 19 one of the youngest computer/  
communications specialists in the A.D. Police - and made even more   
special by the fact that she serves the Knight Sabers in a similar   
way, albeit from a hardsuit and not from HQ. She doesn't know Sean   
either, but is the closest Knight Saber to his 17 years of age.   
Her perpetual 'cute and innocent' attitude is a nice balance for   
the grimness of the BGC series.  
  
Mackie Stingray, Sylia Stingray's teenage brother and a   
friend of Sean's ever since the two met at Raven's Garage in 2030.   
Mackie lost a bet to Sean and had to soup up Sean's prized   
motorcycle. Mackie is a technical assistant to the Knight Sabers   
and a bit of a lecher, but he has a secret that he may not be   
aware of... (see Sylia Stingray)  
  
Sylia Stingray, founder and leader of the Knight Sabers,   
inventor of their unique "hardsuit" combat armor, and daughter of   
the renowned Doctor Katsuhito Stingray, who invented Cyberdroids,   
the artificial humanoids now called "Boomers." Sylia always acts   
cold and distant, and there is good reason for this. In the BGC:   
Grand Mal comic series (Available from Dark Horse Comics,) it was   
revealed that, in order to counter the abuse that GENOM was   
certain to put his inventions to, Dr. Stingray used an   
experimental nanotech process on his two children, changing their   
brain structure biomechanically to give them hyperintelligence.   
Sylia sometimes wonders if she's even human anymore...  
  
Linna Yamazaki, an aerobics and martial arts teacher at the   
Fitness Bee, one of MegaTokyo's more successful health clubs.   
She's also the close combat specialist of the Knight Sabers, and   
is currently Sean's martial arts instructor, having been   
impressed by how well he did (before losing) in a match they   
fought in 2031.  
  
(Email address: Iczel_prime@hotmail.com, comments and criticisms welcome)  
David Gordon's   
Bubblegum Crisis/Iczelion crossover:  
  
Bubblegum Cris-Icz, Episode 1: Beginnings  
  
Nagisa Kai looked around the hospital room. [Overall,] she   
thought, [not the worst place to end up after a car crash on the   
Autobahn. So much for my vacation in Germany, though.] The Japanese   
woman was close to sixty now, in 2032, but her life had kept her in   
a shape that many of the young pro-wrestlers she trained would   
envy. That may have been all that had kept her alive. She thought   
back to the doctor's bad news.  
  
"Miss Kai," he'd said, "You were hurt rather badly in that   
collision. You broke several ribs, your right wrist and left knee   
were damaged, and you sustained a serious concussion. I'm sorry to   
have to tell you this, but the rib injury also damaged your left   
lung. Even after we release you from the hospital in several weeks,   
you *must* remain at low altitudes for at least a year, perhaps   
more, to avoid oxygen deprivation until you recover normal lung   
capacities again. Likewise, you cannot engage in *any* strenuous   
activity for a similar period of time. I realize this prevents   
you from flying home to your son in MegaTokyo, but there's very   
little I can do. If it helps any, the German Wrestling League has   
offered to keep you on as an advisor at your full head trainer's   
pay until you recover." Unfortunately, her finances had been the   
least of her worries.  
  
[If only the others were still here,] Nagisa thought. [Nami,   
Kiro, Kawaii... My fellow Iczelions, gone to find the Iczers who   
vanished years ago. After all we'd been through, fighting Cross,   
the Voids, and finally defeating Chaos himself to end three long   
years of battle, why did they have to leave?] She shook her head.   
[It doesn't matter, does it? As it stands, I can't protect my   
home from rogue Boomers any more. That means _he_ has to start.]   
With a sigh, she pressed the call button to summon a nurse, and   
hopefully, to get a telephone. [I have to call my son.]  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Chapter 1: Introductions  
  
Sean Kai, riding his motorcycle through Tinsel City as he   
headed for his home in the suburbs, was feeling great. He had   
been in a martial arts training session with the instructor his   
mother had hired for when she was out of town. Yamazaki-sensei   
had given him lessons before on gymnastics, dodging, and   
parrying, and today for the first time it had all seemed to   
come together. He hadn't gotten to her yet, but she'd hardly   
laid a hand on him, either.   
  
Sean thought, [Hmm. It's January 2032, so in eight months   
I'll be eighteen. Maybe it's time I started looking around the   
pro-wrestling organizations for openings.] He grinned. [Mom   
sure had a great gimmick with her 'alien warrior' shtick. No   
one believed it, but it got a lot of attention. Err.. Son of   
Alien Warrior doesn't sound so great, though. Guess I need to   
think about a shtick of my own.] He frowned briefly, then   
smiled. [Naah, I'm just going to feel good today. I can finally   
compete on Yamazaki-sensei's level without getting my butt   
kicked!] Sean rode off toward home, almost dancing for joy.  
  
Sean was fixing himself a pizza for dinner when the phone   
rang. He dashed for it, wincing as he dropped the pepperoni in   
the sauce jar. Grabbing the phone, he composed himself and said:  
  
"Hello, Kai residence, Sean Kai speaking."  
  
"Sean? It's Nagisa."  
  
"Mom! Great to hear from you! I thought you weren't   
calling till Friday, though. What's up?"  
  
There was a pause on the line, and then Nagisa replied.   
"Sean, I was in a big car accident this week on the Autobahn."   
At his gasp she hastened to add, "I'm fine, and I am in no   
danger of dying, but I can't go to high altitudes or get into   
strenuous activity for at least a year. The GWL has offered to   
keep me on with good pay until I can return home, but there   
are... things... that can't be left unattended for that long.   
I can't talk about it on the phone, so you should go down to   
the basement and meet a - a friend - down there. She's probably   
listening in, but if she isn't there, just say 'Nagisa says it's   
time.' Got that, Sean?"  
  
"Well, yeah, but..."  
  
"Sean, I can't talk about it on a phone. She'll explain -   
and don't be scared, she looks... _different._ Good-bye; and   
I'm sorry." Sean stared at the phone, finally setting it back   
on the hook. [Oh, well,] he thought. [I may as well do as she   
asked; I've got to admit, I'm curious. I wonder if this has   
anything to do with how she'd disappear every so often?] He   
walked to the basement door, grateful again for the wrestling   
money that had let his mother afford a separate house and not   
an apartment. As he walked down the basement stairs, he thought   
he heard a small noise, like tapping on a tin can. He paused   
at the bottom of the stairs - and gaped at the metallic-yellow   
apparition *floating* above the basement floor!  
  
"Greetings, Sean! I am Iczel, your mother's synchro   
partner!" it said.   
  
[Oh Good Lord, what's a weird little Boomer doing down   
here?!?] Sean thought wildly. Its voice was high and tinny, like   
a child on a radio broadcast, and despite the fact that it had   
no mouth, Sean got the distinct impression that it was smiling   
at him. Sean struggled to speak past his shock.  
  
"YOU... are the friend Mom wanted me to meet?"  
  
"Yes! For quite some time now, your mother and I have been   
the only protectors of Earth, ever since the other Iczelions left."  
  
"Uh... how long is that?"  
  
"Since the Earth date of 1992."  
  
"1992! There weren't even any Boomers then; ah, um, so I   
guess you're not a Boomer. Err.. Iczel, was it? ...Maybe you'd   
better start at the beginning."  
  
"OK! Several decades ago, a race called the Iczers, who were   
protecting the galaxy, encountered a race of destructive androids.   
The Iczers couldn't handle the androids alone, so they created   
us - the Iczels - to bond with natives of other planets and give   
them the power of an Iczer so they could defend their own worlds,   
as Iczelions. This would free the Iczers themselves to fight the   
androids in space. I came to Earth with three other Iczels: Black,   
Silver, and Gold-Types. I was the last to find my partner, who was   
Nagisa Kai, your mother. We..."  
  
(hours later)  
  
"...and ever since Boomers started to run amuck here in   
MegaTokyo, Nagisa and I have stopped the ones that we could attack   
unseen. Now that Nagisa can no longer be here, you will have to   
synchronize with me, Sean."   
  
Sean was having trouble absorbing all that he had been told.   
He'd always known that his mother was extraordinary, but who'd   
have guessed that she'd been fighting biomechanical monsters while   
she was younger than Sean's seventeen years of age? Suddenly, he   
thought back to his mother's encouragement about learning to   
wrestle, to dodge, to fight; her steering him toward science-  
fiction entertainment: and it all came together.  
  
"Mom was _grooming_ me for this, wasn't she? Ever since I   
was young."  
  
"Yes. I scanned you at an early age, and knew that you would   
be as suitable a partner as your mother. Nagisa was determined   
that you would not be as unprepared as she was."  
  
"Well, I would hope not!" Sean, however, had always valued   
his independence. He'd had a lot of it, as the son of a widowed   
mother; he'd been proud that he chose his own path in life. The   
revelation that his life had been almost entirely shaped by other   
people was truly upsetting, and he reacted as most teenagers   
would. He rebelled.  
  
"But what gave you the right - either of you - to take me   
and make me into what you needed? I'm a person, dammit, not a wad   
of clay or a programmable Boomer! How dare you two control my   
life like this!? Maybe I don't want you as a partner, Iczel; in   
fact, maybe I don't even want you in my home!! GET OUT!!"   
  
Iczel sighed, shaking her head and muttering 'not again!' in   
an undertone. She obediently made for the door, pausing only to   
make one final statement. "Sean, I'm sorry you feel this way. One   
thing that you have naturally, though, is your respect for life.   
I ask you; now that you have a chance to save lives, to keep the   
rogue Boomers from hurting people, will you really pass that up?   
If we had met because I synchronized to save you from a Boomer,   
would you have just run away, or would you have tried to stop the   
Boomer?" A long, silent pause. "Sean, I think I understand how you   
feel. I'll leave now, but if you want me, for help or just to talk,   
think of the phrase, 'Charging Up' and I will come to you.   
Good-bye." With that, Iczel zipped across the street to a sewer   
cover, lifted it up, and vanished into the tunnel. All was calm.  
  
Sean's thoughts, however, were anything but serene. His mind   
was whirling in a circle from his being used (as he felt he had   
been,) to his mother's secrets, to Iczel's final points. His mind   
was still spinning as he went to bed, his last coherent thought   
being; [I have to sleep on this. Maybe it'll be clearer in the   
morning.]  
  
*** ***  
  
The next morning, however, brought no new clarity to Sean's   
dilemma. He turned his feelings over and over in his mind, but   
couldn't reach a conclusion. He finally thought, [I can't resolve   
this myself. I need some advice; maybe I'll talk to Yamazaki-  
sensei. Let's see, she's usually at the Fitness Bee until 3:00   
each afternoon: I'll catch her there.]  
  
That afternoon at 3 o'clock sharp, Sean strode into the   
aerobics room at the Fitness Bee, the health club where Linna   
Yamazaki taught aerobics and martial arts. Seeing Linna, he waved   
to her, and she walked across the room to him, calling:  
  
"Back for more, Sean? You sure are a glutton for punishment!   
I'll be available at half past." Then, seeing his expression,   
"Sean? Is something wrong?"   
  
Sean's polite upbringing kicked in: he didn't want to   
interrupt Yamazaki-sensei while she was working. "Nothing that   
can't wait. I'll just go spar with one of the Mannequins until you   
come get me."   
  
She watched him go, concerned; he'd seemed pretty upset. She   
frowned and resolved to finish quickly.  
  
*** ***  
  
In the sub-basement of the Fitness Bee was the newest   
addition to the club: a twenty - foot square ring, usable for   
boxing, wrestling, or martial arts practice. In secure lockers on   
the walls were several Mannequin-class Boomers, programmed with   
various styles of martial arts, and VERY strong action blocks to   
keep the Boomer in control. Sean, upon arrival, walked over to the   
yellow locker and used his F.B. membership card to open it. The   
Mannequin, called Yellow for its 'skin' color, stepped out and said,   
  
"Sean Kai, Member, authorized to practice in: freestyle,   
wrestling, kick boxing, tai chi, aikido, judo; to levels of: brown   
belt. Practice style?"  
  
"Freestyle," Sean answered. He _really_ wasn't in the mood to   
have the machine cry 'foul' on him because he mixed in moves from   
other styles.  
  
"Skill level?"  
  
"Brown belt." [Maybe,] he thought, [if I have to fight really   
hard, I can do the Zen thing and put all this out of my mind.]  
  
"Proceed." Boy and Boomer entered the ring and bowed. The   
fight seemed to blur into action and reaction, Sean staying just   
one step ahead of the machine. In his mind, however, he kept   
hearing voices: Nagisa's, Iczel's, even his own.   
  
[Iczel: "One thing you have naturally is your respect for   
life."]  
  
[Nagisa: "There are - things - that can't be left unattended   
for that long."]  
  
[Sean: "I read in a manga once that 'with great power comes   
great responsibility.' "]  
  
[Iczel: "Now that you have a chance to save lives... ...will   
you really give that up?"]  
  
[Sean: "What gave you the right... ...to take me and make   
me into what you needed?!"]  
  
Sean's thoughts gave him no peace. [Do I really have the   
right to refuse to help Iczel save lives? Was I too harsh last   
night? WHY ME!?]   
  
Unnoticed, Linna had quietly come down the stairs and was   
watching Sean - despite his distraction - handily outmaneuver   
Yellow.  
  
Finally, Sean could take no more. [*Arrgh!*]  
  
With a mental shout, he simultaneously silenced the inner   
voices, sidestepped Yellow's front kick and leveled a vicious   
elbow smash into the back of its head. The skull casing dented,   
and the malfunction removed most of the blocks controlling the   
Boomer. Suddenly, it twisted, grabbed Sean's wrist, and slung   
him into the corner of the ring, hard. Through tears of inner   
torment Sean watched Yellow move in. There were noises from   
ringside, but they weren't important. Yellow flung Sean into the   
opposite corner, bruising ribs. Now, all Sean could see was a   
yellow blur through the tears. [Mother, why are you hurting me?]   
Yellow was the color his mother wore in the ring, wasn't it?   
Another slingshot, Yellow [Mother?] noticing Linna [What's she   
doing here?] and pausing: staring at her like a side of beef:   
and something within Sean broke loose. He grabbed the ring rope   
beside him and vaulted to the ring apron, then onto the top rope,   
lunging headfirst to the ground just five feet in front of the   
distracted foe. [Motherrr...] He was screaming something he   
couldn't make out as he landed on his extended hands, flipped   
forward, performed a handspring, and lashed his right foot   
around and up with all his combined momentum...  
  
*** ***  
  
"DON'T YOU HURT HER!!!"  
  
Linna jerked back as the bellow hurt her ears. She'd jumped   
onto the ring apron to get her student away from the damaged   
Boomer, and it had seen her and turned to her, and then Sean had   
exploded off the turnbuckles, springboarded for momentum,   
handsprung, and caught Yellow in the head with a hook kick that   
caved in the side of its skull, wrecking the GENOM - issue   
electronic brain. Yellow 'died' quickly and Linna slipped through   
the ropes to check her pupil's ribs.  
  
Some time later, when they were sure that Sean was calm,   
his ribs were okay, and that no, Yellow hadn't had time to do   
anything to Linna, they sat down on the floor to talk.   
  
"So," Linna said, "you want to tell me what's bothering you?"   
  
[Oh, boy,] Sean thought, [if only I could.] "Well," he   
replied, "after I went home yesterday, I got a phone call from Mom.   
She was in a car crash on the Autobahn - I told you how she was in   
Germany - and she can't fly home for at least a year because of   
the complications. So I was a little out of sorts because of that,   
and then I found out that I wasn't really as independent as I   
thought I was, that Mother had been guiding me the way she wanted   
since Day One of my training. Add a little moral problem on top   
of that, and I'm one crazy, mixed-up kid."  
  
"Oh, _Sean._ That sounds really bad. Can I help with any of   
it?"  
  
"Well, the moral question, maybe. Umm..." [Now how can I   
possibly phrase this?] Sean wondered. "Let's see... Yamazaki-  
sensei, if someone had maybe been watching or manipulating you for   
a long time, then offered to help you save lives, and that was why   
they were doing what they had with you, what would you do?" Linna   
jumped, and Sean wondered if he'd somehow put his foot in his   
mouth.  
  
Linna, meanwhile, was startled, because that 'watching'   
phrase described just what she felt Sylia had been doing before   
she recruited Linna into the Knight Sabers. [Has Sylia decided to   
enlarge the group without telling me?] Putting that aside, she   
thought about her answer. "I suppose I'd have to say yes, Sean, I   
would. The whole reason martial arts exist is so that you can   
protect yourself and others - preferably without hurting anyone.   
If someone is prepared to do something like that, they have a   
responsibility to try."  
  
"Hmm. That does clarify things a lot. I guess you're right.   
Thanks. Oh, and tell the manager that I'll work off the cost of   
repairing Yellow, all right?"  
  
"Not all of it. I saw that you were disturbed before you came   
down here, so I'm partly to blame. I'll pay half the cost."  
  
"Linna! Can you afford that?"  
  
"Aha! You finally called me 'Linna' and not 'Yamazaki-sensei'!   
You have no idea how _old_ that made me feel!"  
  
"Don't change the subject."  
  
"I'll just pay in installments out of my salary. My   
apartment's paid for, so I can afford that."  
  
"Okay. And I'll try to remember to call you Linna." Just then   
a pager on Linna's belt went off, and she stood up.   
  
"Oops, that means I've got to go."  
  
"Oh- well, I guess I'll head home too, then. Thanks, Yama-   
whoops, Linna!" Both people ran to the stairs and headed for the   
door.  
  
*** ***  
  
Linna drove up to the Silky Doll shop minutes later and,   
after being briefed on a runaway Boomer, pulled Mackie off to   
one side. "Mackie, has your sister approached anyone else lately   
about joining the Knight Sabers?" Mackie stared for a moment,   
then shook his head.  
  
"Nope, she's been buried in completing everyone's motoroids.   
Why?"  
  
"Well, a student of mine - your friend Sean Kai - just asked   
me a question that strongly reminded me of how I felt when Sylia   
asked me to join."  
  
"If she's recruiting, she's built a double of herself to do   
it."  
  
"Okay, Mackie. Thanks," and she blew him a kiss before   
sprinting to the Silkywagon. They had a job to do...  
  
*** ***  
  
Sean arrived home somewhat later. It was a fair distance   
from the Fitness Bee downtown to the Kai house in the suburbs, and   
traffic had been so snarled - some ADP action or other - that he'd   
finally taken some of the abandoned highways home. He'd been   
startled at one point to see a van from a lingerie shop on a   
neighboring roadway, but had reasoned that he wasn't the only one   
dodging traffic. He got inside and immediately went down to the   
basement, thinking the phrase that Iczel had said would call her   
back.   
  
{Charging Up!}  
  
Sure enough, there was some noise, and Iczel floated out of   
the storage room. Sean smiled and spoke. "Iczel, I have to   
apologize - you were right. This is a job that needs doing, and I   
may be the only one who can help you do it. I shouldn't have   
yelled at you like that, even if I did resent what Mom did."  
  
Iczel responded by beaming at Sean. "Does this mean you are   
willing to synchronize with me?"  
  
"Yes. So maybe we'd better discuss what we can do, and a   
practice period before we actually go into battle - I don't think   
I'm ready to take on a C-class just yet!"  
  
"Well, we have..."  



	2. Episode 2: Trial by Fire

Disclaimer: All series, characters, and mecha mentioned herein are the properties of their creators.   
This is not a challenge of any sort to their ownership, so don't sue me, because I have no money.  
  
Explanations  
Communication: In this fanfic, I have to deal with several types of 'speech'. I will type them as   
follows:   
"Talking",   
[Thinking],   
and {'Sending,' or using telepathy or mental communication.}  
  
I will also use the usual Internet symbols for emphasis:   
'slight',   
_medium_,   
*strong*,   
and SHOUTING!  
  
Chapter 2: Trial By Fire  
  
It was February in MegaTokyo, and things were going just   
about like usual for the A.D. Police - that is, badly. Three   
C-class Boomers had run rampant through a slum, and Leon   
McNichol's Tactical Squads had to bring them down before they   
reached the suburbs. Leon looked down the hill as his people   
pinned one of the Boomers down long enough to hit it with a   
grenade launcher, and it exploded. [One down, two to go,] he   
thought. The moment of satisfaction was short-lived, though. Leon   
looked to one side as his car radio sputtered to life.  
  
"Inspector! This is Sergeant Nagumo, Third Squad! One of   
the Boomers has broken away from us and is headed north for the   
suburbs on foot! I'd guess about five minutes until it clears   
the evacuated zone!" [Damn,] Leon thought, almost diving into   
the driver's seat.   
  
"Daley," he cried, "Take over here! I'll try and delay our   
runaway until you can catch up to it!"   
  
Daley barely had time to nod before Leon pulled out,   
roaring north as fast as he could.  
  
*** ***  
  
If Leon had known he wasn't the only one out to stop this   
particular Boomer, he might have been a little calmer. Sean and   
Iczel, crouched in an alleyway at the edge of the slums, went   
over their plans one last time. Iczel was telepathically   
reviewing their capabilities and strategy.  
  
{We don't want to be noticed by GENOM, so Nagisa and I   
always shot the Boomers from behind or otherwise destroyed them   
from ambush. I can jam its telemetry transmissions, but if it   
sees us we have to destroy...}   
  
Sean, obviously impatient, broke in at this point, also   
speaking mentally along the link between the two new partners.   
{...its entire head assembly so we can be sure of destroying any   
record of us. I also still remember that you can generate a   
holographic 'face plate' to keep my face from being seen. We   
have two defensive force fields, one that is constantly   
operating and is skintight, and the other that I have to   
concentrate on, the spherical one. I can drop beam swords from   
my shoulders that I have to catch, because if they get too far   
from us for long they can destabilize and explode. I have to   
concentrate to produce either the small energy beams from each   
hand or the big one from both fists together. Our Iczelion mode   
can fly by graviton drive, just like you can. We aren't sure   
what my 'Higher Function' abilities might be yet because we've   
only been together a short time, but we shouldn't need them   
against a basic C-class. I _do_ remember, Iczel, so let's get   
to work.}   
  
"*Charging Up!*" he yelled aloud.  
  
Sean reflected that, even with a month of practice, he   
still hadn't gotten used to the sight of friendly little Iczel   
flying apart to become an Iczelion battlesuit around his body. He   
wouldn't mind knowing where his clothes went during the   
transformation, either; he was just glad they came back! As the   
transformation completed, the Boomer stomped into view. The   
thrusters on its back appeared to be damaged: the ragged edges   
looked like something exploded in there. As it passed their   
position, Sean pointed one arm at the Boomer's head and waited   
for Iczel's signal.  
  
{Now, Sean,} she 'sent'. Sean concentrated on the image of an   
energy beam, power surged around his fist, the beam flared out...  
  
And missed cleanly. {Blast, Iczel, I forgot: my aim stinks,   
except for my throwing arm!} Sean sent to Iczel along their mental   
link. The Boomer whirled as its mouth opened impossibly wide,   
revealing the head-mounted laser assembly that was common to many   
combat Boomers. Sean leaped, soared into a low flight over the   
laser beam, and fired back.  
  
And missed again. {Dammit!}  
  
Sean and the Boomer exchanged fire three more times before   
Sean got fed up - he hadn't hit the Boomer once, and he needed to   
end this before the A.D. Police arrived. {Iczel, the swords!} Sean   
ordered. He felt Iczel's misgivings, and sent, {I can't hit the   
thing while it's dodging, and I'm very good at close combat. We   
have to end this now!} In another moment the energy blades dropped   
from his shoulder armor into his waiting hands...  
  
*** ***  
  
Leon braked to a halt along the Boomer's projected route at   
the edge of the evacuated area. No Boomer was in evidence, but the   
laser fire shooting into the sky told Leon where it was - and also   
that it was in combat with a serious opponent. [Could it be the   
Knight Sabers?] He had heard that they sometimes took down Boomers,   
for the practice, he supposed. Getting out of his car, Leon ran   
toward the fight, drawing his magnum as he went.  
  
Rounding a final corner, he skidded to a halt. A yellow-and-  
white metallic figure was fighting the Boomer up close, using a   
pair of glowing, translucent swords. As Leon watched, the Boomer   
popped its wrist claws and slashed at its foe, who dodged easily.   
An upward slash cut off one arm of the Boomer like it was soft   
cheese, and a lightning thrust put the other sword into the head   
of the machine, where the armored figure left it as he leaped back.   
  
Leon did a double take as the Boomer collapsed. [*He*? Aren't   
the Knight Sabers supposed to be female?] A second look seemed no   
different; this guy was male, between 5'10" and 6' even. A moment   
later the sword in the warrior's hand dissolved, and the one in the   
Boomer's head exploded, totally wrecking the head and shoulders.   
Leon strode up and called out to the yellow-armored figure.  
  
"A.D. Police! I appreciate you stopping the Boomer, but the   
kind of hardware you're using is just a tad illegal. I've got to   
ask you to come with me."  
  
Sean was a bit startled; he'd been paying so much attention   
to the Boomer that he hadn't noticed this guy arrive. He thought   
of his force fields and grinned. [Time for a test: the Boomer   
never got near me.]  
  
"I'm sorry, officer..."  
  
"McNichol. Inspector Leon McNichol."  
  
"Inspector McNichol, then. I really can't do that right now.   
Maybe sometime when GENOM doesn't control the courts." Sean spread   
his arms as Leon winced.  
  
"Well, if you don't, I'll have to shoot you. You were fast,   
but I'm a way better shot than any Boomer, and you aren't armored   
in any more than cloth in a lot of places."   
  
Sean grinned even wider. Of course Leon couldn't see it   
through the 'face plate' Iczel generated, but the attitude told   
Leon that this guy was amused. "I should add that even bulletproof   
cloth won't stop close-range shots from my Magnum."  
  
"Well, I'm not coming, McNichol, so go ahead and shoot." Leon   
sighed at this, took aim at the guy's right thigh, and pulled the   
trigger twice. A spherical shimmer blinked in and out of existence   
around the mystery man, and a trash can off to one side developed   
two small holes. Leon blinked. [Ricochets? Is that possible?] he   
thought.  
  
Sean wanted to laugh, but kept his self-control. "Well,   
Inspector, if you're satisfied, I'll be going now." He had flown   
halfway to the corner when Leon called out,  
  
"Hey! Are you a Knight Saber?"   
  
"No, I'm just working to serve and protect, a lot like you.   
Hopefully, I'll see you again sometime."  
  
"Waitasec! Who are you then?"  
  
Remembering Iczel's tale about his mother's first battle with   
Cross, Sean turned around and threw Leon a quick salute. "Call me   
Iczelion!"  
  
*** ***  
  
Later, at A.D.P. Headquarters, a young red-headed girl   
finished filing Leon's mission report, then copied the file and   
pocketed the disk.   
  
*** ***  
  
That evening, back at the Silky Doll, Nene watched Sylia   
finish reading the report. "Well?" Nene said. "Do you know anything   
about this, Sylia?"  
  
"No," Sylia responded, "but from the report I'd guess that   
this 'Iczelion' is using something I have only theorized; a force-  
field defense system. Good work, Nene. Keep a lookout for other   
reports on him: it seems we have a new element in MegaTokyo to   
consider."  
  



	3. Episode 3: Till Death Do Us Part

Disclaimer: All series, characters, and mecha mentioned herein are the properties of their creators.   
This is not a challenge of any sort to their ownership, so don't sue me, because I have no money.  
  
Explanations  
Communication: In this fanfic, I have to deal with several types of 'speech'. I will type them as   
follows:   
"Talking",   
[Thinking],   
and {'Sending,' or using telepathy or mental communication.}  
  
I will also use the usual Internet symbols for emphasis:   
'slight',   
_medium_,   
*strong*,   
and SHOUTING!  
  
Chapter 3: Till Death Do Us Part  
  
It was early April in MegaTokyo, and Sean Kai was riding his   
motorcycle to a training session with Linna. [Odd, it still feels   
strange to call her that. I may always think of her as "Yamazaki-  
sensei",] Sean thought. [I'll still be glad to get back to   
training. It'll help life get back to normal.]   
  
Sean thought back to the last couple of months. Back in   
February, a new model of C-class Boomer, a BU-55-C, had gone   
berserk in the Tinsel City district. The A.D. Police had been   
unable to stop it, and Sean (as Iczelion) and Leon had arrived on   
opposite sides of the Faultline Canyon just in time to see the   
Knight Sabers destroy the Boomer. [Just when I thought I'd seen it   
all, four hardened mercenaries act to save lives, and if they got   
paid for doing that, I don't know who'd have done it. Maybe there   
is hope for our tired old city.]   
  
It hadn't been more than a few days after that when the   
U.S.S.D. had its horrific particle-beam satellite disaster. Sean   
hadn't even _known_ about those things until Iczel told him what   
was happening. By the time that they had reached Aqua City, the   
whole place had sunk and the A.D.P. was already on the scene.   
After a quick look underwater, Sean had known that there were no   
survivors. Whoever had been squatting in there that night was   
dead.   
  
Sean shook his head. [Lighten up! We can't help everyone, so   
we have to be satisfied with doing our best,] Sean told himself.   
That was one reason he was looking forward to this session. He   
was pretty sure he'd improved thanks to his private training with   
Iczel, and he wanted to feel some accomplishment today.  
  
Which was why he was so disappointed when Linna bowed out of   
the session.  
  
"Darn it, Linna, this was supposed to be our first practice   
in almost two months! We'll get rusty if we can't train soon!"  
  
"I know, Sean, but my friend Irene - Irene Can - just lost   
her fiance in a GENOM accident, and she almost got killed about   
it at Brian J. Mason's press conference earlier today. I really   
think she needs cheering up if she's that desperate. Maybe we can   
meet back here after hours to practice, okay?"  
  
"Whoa. Well, what you're doing needs to be done, all right.   
I'll just cruise on the Mackiecycle for a couple of hours, then   
come back here. I'll see you then."   
  
Linna shouted after him as he walked down the Fitness Bee's   
front steps. "The 'Mackiecycle'? I don't understand how you get   
along so well with that techno-lech!"   
  
In response, Sean grinned. He was a definite motorcycle   
lover, and so he'd hung around Raven's Garage a lot once he'd   
found the place. Mackie Stingray worked there part-time, and his   
sister, Sylia, seemed to be a part-owner or financial backer or   
something like that. As it turned out, Mackie knew Linna from   
somewhere, and had bet Sean that Linna wouldn't even need five   
minutes to beat Sean freestyle. Sean had lost the match and been   
sore all over the next day, but had held out for nine minutes,   
eight seconds. As a result, Linna had taken an interest in Sean   
and started to train him, and since he lost the bet, Mackie had   
been obligedto retool Sean's beat-up old sport bike. Sean had   
renamed the machine the 'Mackiecycle' in honor of the victory.   
[Mackie did a great job, too,] Sean thought. [I think there are   
pro racing bikes slower than this machine.] With a roar, Sean   
gunned the engine and rode off into the night.  
  
*** ***  
  
Sean was riding back toward the Fitness Bee later that night   
when he heard Linna scream.  
  
"IRENE!"   
  
Immediately he whirled the 'Cycle to aim toward the sound...   
and stopped. [No. I have to do a couple of things first.]   
Switching from thought to 'sending' he called to his partner.   
{Iczel! I think Linna and her friend are in trouble! Come to me,   
and follow me! I'm going to find them!}  
  
{Got it, Sean. On my way!} Iczel sent back. Sean sighed. Now   
for the hard part. Linna had been trying to teach him to   
anticipate - to sense - how or where a battle would go. He hadn't   
believed her, but lately he'd had flashes of- of something. He   
closed his eyes and concentrated...   
  
[The highway?] Sean blinked at the response his instincts   
gave him. [That doesn't make any sense; there's no cover, no   
concealment. The only way Linna would run there is if...] a chill   
ran down his spine... [if she's being herded...] He gunned the   
engine and careened toward the highway, reaching an on-ramp in   
seconds and heading west, closer to where Linna had screamed.  
  
*** ***  
  
Near the Fault Canyon bridge, Sean came upon the trouble - a   
woman in an Italian suit holding Irene up far too easily at arm's   
length. [Gotta be a cyborg, or maybe] - he shuddered - [a C-class   
Boomer. No choice, gonna have to play dirty.]  
  
*** ***  
  
The assassin Boomer (female chassis) was quite happy with its   
progress so far. It had separated the target from her friend, and   
easily herded her out to this isolated overpass for the kill. Its   
first indication that all was not well was when a motorcycle almost   
flew around the curve and rammed it, spilling the rider, jarring   
the Boomer's target loose and causing structural damage to the   
Boomer's torso area...  
  
*** ***  
  
Sean picked himself up from where he'd skidded to, thankful   
that he hadn't bounced off the car parked at the top of the   
stairs. He dashed over to Irene, who was just lying on the ground   
crying. "Irene, are you okay?" No reaction. "IRENE!"   
  
She jerked her head up. "Wh- who are you?"  
  
Sean grinned. "I'm Sean Kai. I study martial arts with Linna.   
Today, I heard about what happened to you, and I heard Linna scream   
for you a couple of minutes ago. I saw that," gesturing to the   
female figure under the motorbike, "guessed it was a Boomer, and   
ran my bike into it. Are you okay?"  
  
"I... um... I guess so..." As Irene answered, Linna ran up to   
the bottom of the stairway, calling Irene's name. "Linna?" Irene   
responded. "Linna, I'm up here!"  
  
"We both are!" Sean called down to his teacher. "A little   
shaken up, but we're both okay!" The sound of Linna's footsteps   
came to a sudden halt, then sped up. She came up onto the overpass   
with her eyes bugged out.   
  
"SEAN? What... How... Why... oh, never mind. Let's just get   
you," and she pointed at Irene, "to safety."  
  
Irene smiled weakly. "I think that's a great idea."  
  
Then the Mackiecycle sprouted a set of sharp points and   
skidded off to one side as the Boomer freed itself. It stood,   
fixed its eyes on Irene, and flexed its freshly-grown claws. Irene   
fainted as Sean stood up.   
  
"Linna, get her out of here. I'll delay that thing until   
you're safe." [After all,] Sean thought, [given a corner to turn   
and a few seconds' lead, it'll be Iczelion and not Sean Kai facing   
this Boomer.]   
  
Linna, for obvious reasons, didn't agree. "Sean, you'll get   
killed! That's a murder machine!" she protested.  
  
Sean placed himself between the Boomer and the stairs. "Linna,   
trust me. I have some aces up my sleeve. Anyway, remember the   
training Boomer?"   
  
Linna wasn't satisfied, but saw Priss pulling up on her   
motorbike under the stairs. "Don't you dare get killed!" she told   
Sean, then carried her unconscious friend down to Priss, and used   
the cycle's CB radio to call Sylia...  
  
*** ***  
  
Sean wasn't doing so well. He was sore from the tumble off   
his bike, and worse, it had been several minutes since the Boomer   
had apparently decided HE was its new target. Sean hadn't been   
able to get any separation at all, the thing was so fast. He was   
considering having Iczel distract it when his foot hit a stray   
gear from the wrecked Mackiecycle and skidded out from under him.   
[Shit!] He rolled sideways, avoiding one set of claws, but came up   
against the embankment. He looked up at the second, poised set of   
claws and rolled backward, not sure if it was far enough...  
  
There was a noise like a sizzling gunshot, then an explosion.   
As Sean looked up, he noticed the Boomer's head had become a   
smoking ruin, evidently shot up by the winged white Knight Saber   
descending toward him on hissing jets.   
  
[My gosh! A Knight Saber!?] he thought. As she landed   
before him, he had the oddest feeling, like he was meeting a   
kindred spirit. [Whoa, Sean,] he cautioned himself. [Better not   
assume before asking.] Suiting thought to action, he stood up and   
said,  
  
"Thanks. I think you just saved my life there. Um, you're   
one of the Knight Sabers, right? I really don't have very much   
money if you were after a reward..." Leaving the question hanging,   
Sean stared into the face plate of the white battle armor, where   
he imagined its user's eyes would be.  
  
The Saber responded, in a quiet voice, "Despite the press   
that GENOM circulates about us, money is not our primary   
motivation. I was keeping an eye on the assassin Boomer, but was   
too far away to engage it when it attacked its target. Your quick   
action probably saved her life."   
  
There was something oddly precise about the way she spoke,   
as if she wanted to pronounce each word perfectly and distinctly.   
It seemed familiar to Sean, as if he'd heard it before... [Oh,   
well... no time to worry about that now.] "Well, thank you for   
saving me. It's good to know that someone else cares in this city.   
Now if only the A.D.P. were this effective!"   
  
The Saber didn't laugh, but Sean got the distinct impression   
that she smiled inside the helmet. She turned to leap away, but   
called back over her shoulder, "There aren't that many people who   
both care, and are also willing to act. Don't get killed; MegaTokyo   
needs more people like you!"   
  
To Sean's intense embarrassment, he blushed. The Knight Saber   
who had saved him flew off into the night.  
  
Iczel shattered Sean's reverie. {Sean, are you all right? I   
got a detailed scan of the armor's energy signature; do you want   
to synchronize and track it?,} she sent.   
  
Sean shook his head for a moment as he focused on the here   
and now. {No, I don't want to track her, Iczel: for one thing,   
saving Sean Kai and then getting followed by Iczelion would show   
some connection between the two. As for your first question, yes,   
I am whole, healthy, and so wired on adrenaline that I'll need a   
sedative to sleep tonight. I'll just tell Linna that I'm okay,   
and then we can synchronize and airlift my poor Mackiecycle down   
to Raven's Garage. After that, we can go home. Oh, wait: tell me   
if you sense the energy of that battle suit again: we'll check   
out what they're doing then.}  
  
*** ***  
  
It didn't take long to convince Linna that he was okay,   
mostly because she looked him over top to bottom at VERY close   
range for any slashes.   
  
After that, the flight to Raven's Garage was quiet, and they   
slipped back into the sewer tunnels to head home. It was an   
excellent escape route: except maybe for the Knight Sabers, there   
was nothing tough enough to handle them, small enough to fit in   
the tunnels _and_ fast enough to keep up with them. Then, just as   
they crossed under a main road, Iczel dropped a bombshell.  
  
{Sean! I just sensed that armor! It just passed overhead, at   
street level, headed for the GENOM Tower area!}  
  
{Damn! She seemed too bright to go for whoever sent that   
killer Boomer like this: oh, well. Let's follow them, Iczel, and   
see if we can't keep her from getting killed.}  
  
*** ***  
  
As it turned out, their destination was not GENOM Tower   
itself, but the Kawasaki Industrial Zone. It had been used by   
GENOM some time ago, but abandoned due to safety problems; Sean   
had read it in the papers some time back. Sean sent: {Iczel, are   
you sure this is the place?}  
  
Iczel's response was immediate. {Yes, I am, Sean; there are   
multiple energy signatures moving in there: four like the white   
armor's, two similar but larger that accompany two of the former   
units, probably those transforming mechacycles of theirs that we   
saw, three that resemble the assassin Boomer you met earlier, one   
that I think is a 55-C, and one very strong one that I've never   
seen before. They're going to meet soon.}  
  
{Okay, Iczel, let's go: point me at the nearest Boomer.}  
  
It took about two minutes for Sean to reach a battle site:   
the white and pink Knight Sabers were faced off against a female   
assassin Boomer and a BU-55-C. The white Saber was battling the   
55-C with a nonchalance that Sean admired; a lot of the Iczelion   
training had gone to improve Sean's aim, but he'd still be   
nervous about tackling that monster. 55-C's were supposed to be a   
lot tougher than the C-class that he'd destroyed in February. He   
tore his gaze from the white Saber in time to see the pink armor   
catch a heavy elbow smash from the assassin Boomer and go down.   
As it extended its claws, drawing a shriek from the Knight Saber,   
Sean landed between the two with both beam swords ready.  
  
"Now that," he joked, "is NO way to treat a lady."  
  
It took Sean just under thirty seconds to slash the Boomer   
into small pieces, a fact he was perversely proud of after its   
'sister' gave him such a hard time. He extended a hand to the   
seated pink - [no, it's pink-and-blue,] he noticed - Knight Saber.  
"Do you need a hand, miss?"  
  
She did a double take. "You! You're the one in the report   
from February, Ick-something! Oh, sorry, that sounded AWFUL!"   
  
Sean laughed. "The name is Iczelion, actually. It's a   
mouthful, so you're forgiven for not getting it right. I-" Sean   
broke off as Iczel 'sent' frantically.  
  
{Sean! That major energy source is coming this way, out of   
the central building!} Sean looked up. Little arcs of electricity   
were playing about the door, showing the frame of a red BU-55-C...   
[No, wait, that thing's gotta be fifteen feet tall!]   
  
The white Saber, having just finished her opponent, turned   
to face this monster as it strode into the moonlight. Two more   
Knight Sabers, one blue and one green, leaped into view and formed   
up beside the white one. Sean stayed in the rear, with the pink   
Saber, but got ready to move in if the other three needed backup.   
The green suit was first to attack the monster Boomer, a melee   
breaking out as the huge red figure charged, the Knight Sabers'   
laser fire spitting ineffectively against its thick armor. The   
Boomer batted the three nearby suits aside and yawned its mouth   
open. Sean had just enough time to notice that it had three   
lenses in its mouth instead of one parabolic dish, then it aimed   
at Sean and the Knight Saber behind him, and fired.  
  
Sean crossed his fists before him in a reflexive defense,   
and concentrated. The spherical shield formed around him, but he   
could _feel_ the awful force of the triple beam on his field,   
pounding and tearing... and suddenly, it stopped. Opening his   
eyes - he hadn't realized that they had closed - he saw the   
reason. The three Knight Sabers in front of him had combined their   
fire and destroyed the laser. [Whew! I owe them another one!]  
  
Then all hell broke loose.  
  
{Sean!} Iczel sent. {The particle-beam satellites - they're   
targeting this area! That blast in March was no accident! GENOM   
must have tested this thing!}  
  
Sean swore aloud. [One thing's for sure, I've got to stop   
this, *now!*]   
  
Activating his energy blades, he charged. The Boomer had   
just swatted the three Sabers away, and it saw him coming. It   
braced, pulled back an arm, waited... and Sean snapped to a halt   
just out of reach, and threw both beam swords with all of his   
might. One lodged in the head, another in the shoulder. A second   
later, outside of Iczelion's stabilizing energy field, both   
exploded. Decapitated, the Boomer fell onto its back, dead. Unable   
to quite believe it, Sean stood and stared. A moment later the   
first particle beam struck down from orbit, and all five of the   
armored figures in the old factory made a mad dash for escape. The   
four Knight Sabers stopped beside a large truck near the complex;   
Sean kept going, ignoring the beckoning arm of the white Saber as   
she gestured him towards them. [The last thing I need is for her   
to recognize my voice from earlier tonight!] Sean thought. Then,   
'sending' to Iczel, he continued, {I think we've done all that we   
can tonight, so let's head for home.}   
  
Iczel replied, {We've done more than we really planned to   
tonight! Oh yes, and don't forget to call Linna about Irene   
tomorrow.} Sean had to laugh at that. Good old Iczel; she was   
facing destruction right in there with him, and she never seemed   
to get flustered.  
  
*** ***   
  
The next day, Sean phoned Linna almost as soon as he woke up.  
  
"Hello, Yamazaki residence."  
  
"Linna? Hi, it's Sean. I didn't realize until now that I   
don't know what we can do to get Irene out of danger. Do you have   
any ideas?"  
  
"Sean! Yes, I do, and you're just in time. I can pick you up   
on the way to MegaTokyo Airport: Irene wanted to say good-bye to   
you before going to Hong Kong."  
  
"Hong Kong! Why there?"  
  
"Well, apparently she has family there, and the Chang Group   
corporation runs Hong Kong..."  
  
"Ah, so if GENOM tries funny business there, they'll have   
problems. Good idea."  
  
*** ***  
  
Some two hours later, at the airport, Sean and Linna were   
watching Irene's flight rise into the sky. Linna wore a   
melancholy expression.  
  
"Sean," she said, "I know it's better to have her gone than   
dead, but I still feel like I've lost a friend. Does this make   
any sense? I mean..."  
  
Sean thought a moment before replying. "Yes, it does, Linna.   
You've had her around for a long time, I gather, and now she isn't   
here anymore. You'll see her again, but it may be a long time. I   
had the same reaction when..." and he paused for a moment: "...when   
I heard about my mother's injury. I know she'll be back, but she's   
suddenly and without warning out of my life, and it hurts."   
  
Linna nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Hey, wait a minute, who's   
the sensei and who's the student here?!"  
  
Sean laughed, as both of them threw off the dark moods   
they'd been enduring. "I don't know, Linna. Why don't we get over   
to the Fitness Bee and you can *try* to show me?"  
  
"Oh-ho, you're on, buster, and will you ever regret that!"  
  
"I don't know. Will I?"  
  
The two friends jogged towards Linna's van as Irene's plane   
vanished into the distance.  
  



	4. Episode 4: Getting to Know You...

Disclaimer: All series, characters, and mecha mentioned herein are the properties of their creators.   
This is not a challenge of any sort to their ownership, so don't sue me, because I have no money.  
  
Explanations  
Communication: In this fanfic, I have to deal with several types of 'speech'. I will type them as   
follows:   
"Talking",   
[Thinking],   
and {'Sending,' or using telepathy or mental communication.}  
  
I will also use the usual Internet symbols for emphasis:   
'slight',   
_medium_,   
*strong*,   
and SHOUTING!  
  
Chapter 4: Getting to Know You...  
  
One evening, two months later, Sean wasn't sure whether to   
bless his luck for eight uneventful weeks, or curse it for the   
boredom and occasional anxiety that he was left with after the   
action in April. He and Iczel had kept busy with training,   
studying Iczel's memory files of his two real battles, and Sean   
had practiced his marksmanship while Iczel tried to decrypt the   
radio scrambling that the Knight Sabers had used. [It would be   
nice,] Sean mused, [to be able to talk to them, or at least hear   
them, next time we meet.] Iczel was morally certain that she had   
deciphered the Sabers' code, but admitted that there were some   
areas that still baffled her. Sean had also enjoyed limited   
success. He could hit a man-sized target while he was dodging, or   
while it was dodging, but not while both he and it were dodging.   
[So for a while, I guess the beam swords are still my best   
weapons.]   
  
His mood was not great: earlier that day, Mackie and Doctor   
"Don't call me Pops" Raven had given Sean an estimate on how long   
it would take to fix the Mackiecycle, and it had not been good   
news. Sean had been forced to take public transit to get around   
the city, and there were still two weeks to go before Dr. Raven   
could even *work* on Sean's wheels. [I wonder how they got so   
busy all of a sudden? It was always so quiet around Raven's Garage.   
Oh, well...] Sean, reclining on a chair in his basement, drifted   
off into a reverie...  
  
*** ***  
  
Sylia, in armor and accompanied by the other Knight Sabers,   
looked down from a rooftop upon the burned ruins of Wiz   
Laboratories. Her father's home away from home. The place of his   
death - at the hands of the greedy GENOM executive Brian J. Mason,   
if her father's 'last words' were to be believed.   
  
Two weeks ago, the Knight Sabers had received a job offer   
anonymously, offering ten million yen in advance, just to come to   
an in-person meeting and hear a proposal. Sylia would have   
rejected the suspicious offer if the specified meeting place had   
not been Wiz Laboratories; that could mean this mystery employer   
knew that Sylia Stingray was involved with the Knight Sabers, and   
she had to investigate the possibility. It was nearly certain,   
however, that this was a trap, so all four Sabers were here and   
Mackie was nearby with the large truck and the Motoroids if they   
were needed. With a resigned sigh, Sylia leaped down from the   
roof into a clear area in the wreckage - it used to be the central   
foyer, if the floor plans were accurate. The other Knight Sabers   
followed her down. Looking around, neither Sylia nor her   
hardsuit's sensors could locate any trouble. She turned to the   
team electronics expert. "Nene? Can you find anything out of the   
ordinary?"   
  
The pink - and - blue hardsuit shook its head. "Nope; too   
much metal and concrete around to locate anything that's inactive,   
and I can't find any active power sources yet."  
  
A synthesized voice echoed from the darkness, startling the   
Knight Sabers into a back-to-back defensive posture. "Welcome,   
Knight Sabers. I hope you enjoyed the ten million that was   
deposited into your accounts to gain your attendance, because from   
now on, you will have very little liberty in which to spend it.   
You may fight, if you wish: it will only make your defeat more   
painful. Good-bye."  
  
Nene broke the second of silence that followed this statement   
with an alarmed yell. "Yikes! I've got four different energy   
sources powering up, one each to the north, south, east, and west!   
We're surrounded, guys!"  
  
Out of the rubble of Wiz Laboratories rose four older-model   
C-class Boomers, mouths gaping open to use their lasers as they   
leapt at their targets...  
  
*** ***  
  
{SEAN!} The 'sent' exclamation jolted Sean from his half-  
asleep state. Iczel was just coming out of the storeroom, and she   
looked excited.   
  
"Yeah, Iczel, what is it? Boomer attack?"   
  
In reply, Iczel switched to verbal communication. "In a way.   
I thought I'd detected those battlesuits going by again, but it   
was at the edge of my range, so I wasn't sure. Then I picked up   
four Boomers activating in the direction the suits went, and I'm   
pretty sure they're fighting!"  
  
"Wha - well, then what're we waiting for!?! CHARGING UP!"  
  
Once again, Iczel disassembled herself, the parts flying   
about Sean as his clothes disappeared, then attaching to his body   
like a partial hardsuit, then materializing the red-and-white   
'spandex', as Sean thought of it, to cover the exposed areas. In   
seconds, Iczelion stood in the room.  
  
"Okay, Iczel," he said, then switched to 'sending': {point   
me in the right direction!}   
  
*** ***  
  
At Wiz Laboratories, the last Boomer of the four crashed to   
the ground, the smoking hole in its head a surprising testament   
to Nene's marksmanship. Sylia looked around; none of the Sabers   
had even been damaged in the skirmish. [This was too easy,] she   
thought. [This must have been a delaying action.] She shouted to   
the other Knight Sabers as she opened her suit's jet wings. "This   
was a delaying action! Everyone out, now!"  
  
The synthesized voice spoke up for the first time since the   
battle started. "Too late, Knight Sabers. Too late." Four BU-55-C   
Boomers flew into view from nearby alleyways. Sylia squinted at   
the chest assembly of the nearest one. [It's too bulky,] she   
realized. [Whatever is in there, it's not the normal microwave   
cannon-]  
  
All four Boomers opened their too-large chest pauldrons to   
reveal pairs of parabolic dishes, and then all thought flew from   
the minds of the Knight Sabers as the high-frequency sound the   
dishes generated tore through their ears in a torrent of pain...  
  
*** ***  
  
Sean, still two blocks away from the audio assault,   
faltered in flight and clutched at his head. {YEAAGH! That hurts   
all the way out here!} He continued to 'send' to Iczel, {Is there   
any way we can adjust our "skintight" force field to screen that   
out? I sure can't get any closer like this!} Iczel paused for   
a moment, then the sound seemed to die away to a nails-on-  
blackboard whisper. {Bravo, Iczel, that's incredible!} Sean sent   
gratefully. {Now let's get in there and kick some Boomer!}  
  
*** ***  
  
Sylia couldn't take much more. She could barely move, and it   
was an effort just to think in the middle of the unbearable noise.   
She had to stop it, or they were all as good as dead. She pushed   
off the ground, looking up to see the Boomers pulling loose steel   
rebar from the ruined walls. She didn't understand why until one   
of them picked up one of the other hardsuits - Sylia couldn't   
remember who it was, she couldn't *think,* the suit was all blue,   
anyway - pulled her arms behind her, and wrapped the rebar around   
them, binding the suit's arms behind its back. Sylia pointed her   
palm cannon at that Boomer, and was grabbed by another she hadn't   
noticed landing beside her. [Nooooo...!]  
  
Then, in rapid succession, two energy beams lanced into the   
fray from above. One Boomer, the one that had just trussed up the   
blue hardsuit, was hit in the head and collapsed. A second Boomer   
twisted to meet this attack and took the next bolt in the chest,   
which was unprotected with the pauldrons opened. There was an   
explosion, and the BU-55-C fell. The Boomers holding Sylia and the   
green hardsuit - [Linna?] - released their grips and jumped skyward   
on their thrusters to meet the attack. A yellow-and-red figure   
produced two gleaming, transparent blades from somewhere. He flew   
to meet them as if carried by the wind, for he had no jets. Sylia   
noticed that the noise was almost tolerable now, but she was still  
addled. [He looks like a knight in magic armor, like in those   
fantasy books I read when I was ten,] she thought. [The knight in   
shining, flying armor coming to save his warrior princess.] Sylia   
shook her head violently. [Ouch! That was painful. I *must* still   
be confused, to be thinking like that. Knight in shining armor,   
indeed!]   
  
Still, as she looked skyward, watching him decapitate the   
last two BU-55-C's, she realized that he did resemble that   
storybook champion who she would NEVER admit had inspired the name   
she'd given her team...  
  
*** ***  
  
Sean slashed the head off the last Boomer and looked down.   
He was really pleased with his earlier shooting: he'd hit both   
Boomers, although the second had only been destroyed because it   
had opened up its chest armor to use that sonic weapon. Not all   
the news was good news, though; two of the Knight Sabers had   
their arms pinned behind them by the rebar the Boomers had pried   
up, the blue one and the pink one with the wing-vanes. [They'll   
need help,] Sean thought, [We'll all be better off getting away   
from here before whoever was behind this trap sends   
reinforcements.] The white Saber was staggering to her feet:   
Sean flew over to her. "Are you all right, ma'am?" he asked. [Oh,   
brilliant, I sound like something out of a western!] he then   
berated himself.  
  
The white figure shook her head, as if to clear it. After   
a moment, she responded. "Yes, I am all right - thanks, it would   
seem, to you. You're the same one who helped us with the   
Superboomer, aren't you? You called yourself 'Iczelion'?"  
  
Sean had a panicked thought that she might remember his   
voice, but forced it down, reminding himself that her rescuing   
him had happened months ago. "Yes, and the situation was rather   
like tonight. I was - um - training in the area when I detected   
a battle going on. Once I found the location, I acted to save   
human lives from a Boomer attack. I wish GENOM would teach them   
better manners."  
  
*** ***  
  
Sylia let herself smile slightly at the joke. "Yes, that   
would be more convenient for all of us. I think-" She broke off   
as the chest-shot BU-55-C rose to its feet behind Iczelion. She   
pointed, yelling "LOOK OUT!" as she tried to bring her palm   
cannon to bear...  
  
*** ***  
  
Sean whirled as the white Saber yelled, alerted a half-  
second earlier by Iczel. He ducked under a roundhouse punch,   
then spun around behind the damaged Boomer and grabbed it   
around the waist. Arching backward into a wrestling bridge, he   
destroyed the Boomer almost exactly the way his mother had   
dispatched her first opponent as Iczelion. Not designed to take   
the sort of impact that his leverage plus his boosted strength   
could dish out, the Boomer's skull caved in, and it finally died.  
  
*** ***  
  
Linna couldn't believe her eyes. Had that guy really just   
taken out a BU-55-C with a wrestling move? A German Suplex? He   
wasn't half bad, either... There couldn't be that many people who   
had that build and were good enough with martial arts to kill a   
Boomer. [Sean Kai?] She thought, astonished. [No way, where would   
Sean get a hardsuit? Still, he asked me that question that   
reminded me of when Sylia recruited me... and he mentioned an   
'ace up his sleeve' when he delayed the assassin Boomer... I'd   
better ask him tomorrow.]  
  
*** ***  
  
Sylia deactivated her palm cannon and relaxed a bit. "I   
apologize. I should have realized that this was a poor place to   
talk. Could you come with us to our vehicle? I think we would all   
benefit from joining forces." She ruthlessly kept the irrational   
hope she was feeling out of her voice. [Never let anyone know   
they have an advantage over you.]  
  
*** ***  
  
Sean was very tempted. The feeling - from his instincts, he   
now realized - of the white Knight Saber being a kindred soul was   
back in full force. He thought of what would likely happen to   
Iczel, though - poked and tested and maybe destroyed to try to   
'reverse engineer' her technology - and hardened his heart.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I work alone." Then, in a moment of weakness,   
he amended, "At least, for now." He turned, and flew off, dropping   
towards the Faultline Canyon as he went. Behind him, the now freed   
Knight Sabers rushed to their truck - but the white one kept   
glancing over her shoulder.  
  
*** ***  
  
The next morning, Sean was awakened by the doorbell. His mood   
didn't improve as he realized, in order, that he'd overslept, that   
he'd gone to bed fully clothed last night, and that he still had a   
touch of a headache from that sonic weapon. [I have to get Iczel   
to make that defense a permanent feature,] Sean thought. [I'm   
amazed that the Knight Sabers could recover so quickly after being   
at Ground Zero for that sonic barrage. Then again, they might have   
soundproofing in those helmets...] He made his way to the door and   
opened it. Linna stood there, wincing as the door creaked. Sean   
winced, too. His ears were obviously still sensitive after last   
night. "Ow! Um, hi, Linna; what brings you here?"  
  
Linna looked troubled. "Sean, I needed to talk to you in   
private about something. It's really important. Can I come in?"  
  
[Uh-oh,] Sean thought. [This can't be good news, the way   
she's acting.] "Sure, come on in, Linna. Can I get you something   
to drink? Coffee, tea, soft drinks?"  
  
"Just some water would be fine. I have a huge headache, and   
I don't want to aggravate it."  
  
Sean got them each a glass of water, and they sat down in   
the living room. "So," Sean asked, "What's the big deal that you   
come out here when you're evidently feeling lousy?"  
  
Linna coughed. "You're obviously not feeling too well   
yourself," and her gesture indicated his clothes, his hand   
rubbing his forehead, and the late morning hour in a single sweep.   
"I got to thinking about what you asked me back in January. It   
was about a month after that when this mystery battlesuit   
appeared, with a penchant for destroying Boomers in hand-to-hand   
combat."  
  
"Sounds like the Knight Sabers," Sean replied casually, but   
he'd been dreading this moment ever since Iczel had impressed him   
with the need for secrecy; Linna was too perceptive to not notice   
the odd behavior of a student. He pressed on, "maybe this mystery   
man is a new recruit of theirs."  
  
Linna frowned. "I don't think so, but that's beside the   
point. You mentioned an 'ace up your sleeve' when you delayed that   
assassin Boomer, you weren't afraid of it, the news reports this   
morning mentioned _five_ armored figures fighting Boomers last   
night, and you look like hell this morning. Sean, are *you*   
this - this Iczelion?"  
  
Sean sat frozen in the chair. [Oh, boy, how do I answer this   
one and still keep my secret? Think fast, Kai...] "Um, Linna, I   
hate to disappoint you, but I was terrified that night with Irene.   
I just did what you taught me and controlled my fear. And I - I   
wasn't exactly honest with that 'aces' wisecrack; I just wanted   
to get you to leave before the Boomer attacked. And finally, I   
was out walking near the Fault Canyon last night when I heard this   
AWFUL screeching. It was like nails on a blackboard amplified a   
million times, and it felt like my head split open. I staggered   
back here after the noise quit, and went to bed. I didn't wake up   
until the doorbell rang, and there you were."   
  
*** ***  
  
It was a reasonable explanation, but Linna wasn't convinced.   
[My problem,] she thought, [is that we Knight Sabers aren't   
allowed to give out information about our identities, even   
indirectly. I'm almost sure that German Suplex was Sean in action;   
he told me once that his mother taught him that move. But I can't   
reveal that I know how Iczelion took out that Boomer without   
giving away the fact that I was there last night, so I can't ask   
him about it! Darn it!] Aloud, she said, "Oh. Well, If you _were_   
him, I'd have told you to be careful. I'd also insist that you   
tell your mother about what you were doing, and that you find some   
help. The Knight Sabers seem to care about people; maybe them.   
Nobody can survive alone forever." She stood up. "Well, I'm sorry   
to bother you over nothing, Sean: I was just worried, that's all.   
I'll let you get some rest." With that, she walked out, opening   
and closing the door slowly so as not to make a noise.  
  
*** ***  
  
As soon as she was gone, Sean let out a huge breath. [Whew!   
That was a close call. I sure hope I can keep all this secret; I'm   
pretty sure she still suspects me, and there's a lot riding on me   
here. Still, I am getting better at this; watch out, GENOM,   
there's a new boy in town!] he thought with a smirk.  



End file.
